St. Thomas Aquinas’ Dave Palm is the Broward Beach Volleyball Coach of the Year
St. Thomas Aquinas has been on a steady rise in beach volleyball under the guidance of coach Dave Palm since the sport became sanctioned three years ago by the Florida High School Athletic Association.
After making it to state the past two seasons, but losing in the first round, the Raiders took a step further this time.
Aquinas advanced to the state semifinals for the first time before falling to eventual champion Gulf Breeze.
As such, Palm is once again the Miami Herald’s Broward Beach Volleyball Coach of the Year.
Palm’s group went 19-0 until that loss at state, dominating the competition in South Florida.
The Raiders also showed their resilience at the state meet itself when adverse weather conditions delayed the tournament and made their stay in Tallahassee challenging when a pair of tornadoes knocked out the power at their hotel.
“We had no hot water and no electricity at our hotel since Friday,” Palm said. “There were a lot of cold showers. It was rough. We had to drive around to find restaurants that were open so we could get our girls fed.”
When Aquinas was on the sand, though, it took care of business, beating Merritt Island and Vero Beach on back-to-back days to make it to the semifinals.
The Raiders’ top two pairs - Zoe Taylor and Zsa Zsa Ferguson at No. 1 and Emily Rosinsky and Kristi Takocka at No. 2 - led the way throughout the season.
Rosinsky, the only non-senior of that group, will return next season in the hopes of leading Aquinas further and perhaps to that first state championship.
